Recipe: Brasserie 19’s Showstopping Spiced Apple Galettes

Impress your Thanksgiving guests with this fancy dessert.

Jaime Salazar is a wily chef. After signing for a $2,000 delivery of caviar to the kitchen one afternoon at Brasserie 19, he showed us how to make a beautiful, scrumptious dessert that’s quick, easy and likely to convince your guests you’re a pastry genius: his spiced apple galette, which he says is like “the holidays on a plate.”

One of the time-savers is the frozen puff pastry dough. “Especially at Thanksgiving, you have so much on your hands,” says Salazar. “You have to make the mashed potatoes, the gravy, the turkey—and with this, the puff pastry’s ready, you just throw it in the oven. It’s delicious, super-flaky, and you don’t have to dirty more dishes.”

But what makes the dessert a real showstopper, Salazar insists, is the caramel. “If you can make a good caramel, you can definitely impress your guests.” The key is to take it off the stove before it looks done, because it will keep cooking—and can burn—afterward. As soon as it takes on the hue of honey, he says, pull it off the heat.

You can make both the caramel and the apple filling beforehand. In fact, says Salazar, “If you make the apples the day before, they’ll be ten times better.” And if you have any caramel left over, keep it for iced coffee.